Judge hurt, three policemen killed in Pakistan blast

PAKISTAN: An anti-terrorist judge was wounded and three policemen were killed when a remote-controlled bomb attached to a bicycle exploded in the central Pakistani city of Multan Friday, police said.

Judge Bashir Ahmed Bhatti, who often hears cases against Islamic militants, was among nine people injured by the blast around 100 metres (yards) away from the court building, district police chief Munir Ahmed Chishti.

Television footage of the blast site showed a white car believed to be the judge’s with its front end wrecked by the force of the blast and blood stains on the seats.

“A bomb of high intensity was planted on a bicycle in front of a basketball stadium near the court and exploded as the car of the special anti-terrorism court judge passed,” Chishti told AFP.

“Two police gunmen died on the spot and another nine people were injured including the judge, six policemen and two bystanders,” Chishti added.

An injured policeman later died at a local hospital, doctor Fahim Javed said, bringing the death toll to three. The three wounded policemen are in a serious condition, he added. The bomb was thought to have been detonated by remote control, regional police chief Mohammad Ali said.

Multan, Friday, AFP